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Back in May I was invited with the MyFab5 crew to check out the new pizza place in Argyle, TX. I hadn't even heard of Argyle and had no idea where it was. Turns out, it's far... far from me at least. Good news to the folks in Denton, it's just a little North of y'all. But this is the lastest concept from the team behind Barley & Board, which you know is my new favorite place! I have to support my peeps! So out of the 3 community leaders for MyFab5/@bestfooddallas, I was the only one that made it out there. It was a week night and quite difficult for everyone to make the trek.
Earl's 377 Pizza
427 U.S. 377
Argyle, TX 76226
(940) 464-4444
http://earls377pizza.com
Price: $$-$$$
It was their media night, so there were lots of other bloggers, writers there. The place is a converted fire station. It's really cool! It's like Barley & Board where they re-purposed materials already there, that has history and meaning, and use them in interesting ways. For example, they have shovel chandeliers, "shoveliers". Ha! Makes sense when the decor is done by the same team that did B&B.
At first I had a table for myself. I had mentioned that I didn't mind being placed with other bloggers but wasn't sure if that was going to happen. So I went ahead and ordered... Oh man did I represent! I ordered enough for like 5 people. haha. Gotta try a little bit of everything right?? But after I placed my order, Narciso (the PR guy) found me a spot with two girls from The Dentonite. They were super nice and welcomed me to their table. After some brief introductions the food started arriving. It was their orders first.
Isabella's Snack Board (prosciutto, salami, mortadella, marinated vegetables) $12~
My new foodie friends had ordered this. I had a bite of one of the meats, not sure which one. I've never been that into meat boards as cured meats are not my favorite. But I'll eat them, don't get me wrong. I'm just not the best judge on whether or not one is good. This looked pretty good to me. And the two girls seemed to really enjoy it.
Crawfish & Artichoke (roasted peppers, pepper jack) $9~
Then my appetizer came. It was still bubbling when they set it on the table. I liked that they used pizza crust as the bread. The crust on the pizza is usually my favorite part. I know that's not the norm... but a good dough with good texture can make or break a pizza for me. The dip was warm and cheesy. We all really liked it. It's quite heavy though, so good to share with people.
Baby Arugula (shaved prosciutto, parmesan, shallot, dried figs, balsamic vinaigrette) $10~
I had to try a salad since I like to have some fresh greens with every meal. The salad was huge!! Tons of fresh arugula. The figs were nice a juicy and it wasn't overly dressed. I hate it when restaurants drown the salads. This was perfect.
Chicken & Artichoke (ricotta, spinach, artichokes, mozzarella) Reg $12~
This was the first pizza to arrive. The other girls ordered this one. It was on my list, but I had too many already and had passed on it. I'm so glad I got to try it. It was one of my favorites for the night. I just love all the ingredients and it was simple and good. All their pizzas were good actually...
Yukon Gold (ricotta, smashed potato, bacon, roasted onions, rosemary) Reg $12~
We both ordered this so we had 2 for the table. haha. One of our absolute favorites. It's like a baked potato on a pizza. Sounds amazing right? I think potatoes need to become a standard on pizzas. And that bacon tho... I also wore my pizza shirt to match the food! :P
Forager (roasted mushrooms, sweet onions, spinach, truffle oil) Reg $12~
One of my orders. I freaking love mushrooms so I had to get it. It was good, but didn't live up to some of the other ones so it got lost in the mix. I think I was missing a meat element with this one. Next time I'd add sausage to it I think.
N'Djua (spicy prosciutto spread, shallot, ricotta) Reg $12~
This was the one I was most excited about, because of that prosciutto spread. I think I had an idea of what it was and I was right. The only thing is... it needed more of it on the pizza! Just load it up!! It had a nice kick to it too. Yum!
Meatball Sandwich (house meatballs and marinara baked with mozzarella and provolone; served with Deep River chips) $12~
I had to get a sandwich to try as well. This was epic. I just stared in awe as they set it in front of me. We had ran out of table space by then. haha. The meatballs were ginormous! And very tasty. I was only able to take a bite or two though since I was stuffed at this point. Loved the chips as well.
We tried to get one of their dessert pizzas but the kitchen ran out. Oh well, it's probably good that we didn't get it since I was about to burst! Plus I had a mountain of leftovers to take home. :D I'm gonna have to try it some other time. The food was great and the ambiance was super unique yet casual. I expected no less from the team behind Barley & Board. And I have to give a special shout out to the wait staff. Most of the wait staff was made up of teenagers (I think)...they all seemed really young. And all were just super enthusiastic and friendly. They were constantly checking on all the tables making sure everyone had everything they could ever need. They didn't even give us the chance to ask for drink refills. The 2 girls I sat with were drinking pink lemonades. They were constantly being refilled. One girl even brought over fresh cups when she saw that the ice had melted down a little in their current drinks. What service! And when our waiter had to deliver the news that the dessert pizzas ran out, he was seriously distraught and kept apologizing. haha. At first we thought maybe it was because it's media night, but then quickly realized that they were just good kids and really cared about the customers.
It was a great and delicious night. I made some new friends too! I got to talk to some of the owners as well, they were going around the room talking to customers. I told them I drove all the way out from Rockwall! They were very impressed. hehe. It was worth it. I have really high hopes for this team. I hope they continue to expand through DFW. (Please come more Southeast! *hint*hint* hehe.) Glad I was able to represent @bestfooddallas during their sneak peek. :)
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Last month, I had dinner with a friend. He was headed to Asia for several weeks so we met up before he left. We decided to try Dough, on Preston and Forest, since I would be in that area after work. I see this place all the time but had never been. I've heard good things about it though.
Dough Pizzeria Napoletana
11909 Preston Rd, Ste 1444
Dallas, TX 75230
(972) 788-4600
www.doughpizzeria.com
Price: $$-$$$
This place was more casual in decor than I expected. But I'm not sure why I always had the impression that it was fancier? haha. There wasn't too many people there on a Wednesday night, but it wasn't that empty either. They specialize in Neapolitan style pizza which is cooked at a very high temp for a very short period of time. The crust is usually pretty thin.
Sausage & Pistachio Pizza (fresh Panna, house-made sausage, bloomed onion, pistachios, Parmigiano Reggiano) $13~ To get some greens in the meal, we added fresh arugula on top.
Neither of us has had pistachio on a pizza before so it sounded really interesting. OMG. It's like the most awesome topping on pizza ever! (well not really... but it's pretty dang tasty. haha) The pistachios added a nuttiness that perfumed every bite. LOVED IT!! The sausage were in small pieces so they were crisped up like it was bacon. And the arugula on top was a nice touch... added some freshness and just the right amount of bitterness to balance out the cheese and meat. Normally I like thicker crusts on pizza since I like the doughiness. The crust on this was great. It wasn't super thin so it still had that chewiness. But the crust was thin enough so you don't feel as heavy eating all the carbs. We decided to only get 1 pizza and share since we wanted to get dessert. hehe. It was just the right amount. I'd totally get this pizza again. In fact, I wanna add pistachios to all my pizzas from now on. haha.
Pumpkin Polenta Cake (with torched marshmallow cream)
I don't remember how much this cake was, but it was totally worth it. Maybe $8? Super interesting and yummy. The texture was fantastic... you get the slight graininess from the polenta but it was still super moist. The outside had a really nice crisp crust. My friend and I both absolutely loved it. The marshmallow cream was not only a visually stunning pairing, but also tasted great. I think they normally offer a polenta cake, but the pumpkin addition might be seasonal. So better go check it out before the holiday season is over! I'll have to go again to try the regular polenta cake.
Really great meal. I'm glad we tried this place. And always a fun time catching up with friends. Dough is close to my work too... so maybe I'll take my co-workers there for lunch some time.
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Two weekends ago I went on a trip with some friends to Ft. Lauderdale. We had been talking about doing a trip forever. And all of us wanted to go to the beach. Just lay back, relax and veg out! Cancun was our first choice but we missing the window and the prices went up up up... :( Luckily, I found a pretty great flight deal to go to Ft. Lauderdale. None of us have ever been there. And we thought it would be quieter than Miami, since we just wanted to unwind. The trip couldn't come soon enough, and finally we were on the plane!!
We arrived late on a Thursday night. After we checked into our hotel, we asked the front desk where we can go eat. We didn't rent a car so we just walked around. Most places were already closing at this point but we found a hip little pizza place that is open late. The place was packed! Apparently Thursday night is ladies night and ladies get free wine with the purchase of an entree. Nice! We actually had to wait a while to get a table for our party of 5.
Piola
1703 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd.
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
(954) 457-9394
www.piola.it/countries/display/us
Price: $$
Finally, we were seated. Our waiter was pretty cool. Brought us some waters and took our drink orders. My friend and I both got a glass of wine. I don't drink wine but I gave it to another friend. hahaha.
Another friend ordered the Sgroppino Al Limone (lemon gelato and Vodka) $6~ It was definitely not what we expected. All of us thought it would be more like a slushy, but it was creamy. Very thick and rich. It was interesting for sure.
After we ordered , the waiter gave us some Complimentary bread. With olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
It was pretty late, so we got a few things to share.
D'Annunzio Salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, sweet corn, fresh bean sprouts, hearts of palm, mozzarella fior di latte, avocado, boiled eggs, dijon mustard dressing) Regular size $10.95~
This was a pretty big salad. Interesting too, with the bean sprouts. I think this is the first time I've had bean sprouts in a Western style salad. It was really good. Everything was fresh. The avocado added a creaminess. And I loved the dijon mustard dressing. It was the perfect size for the 5 of us.
Moderna Pizza (topped with fresh arugula, dice tomatoes, and shaved grana padano cheese) $11.95~ We added prosciutto on top +$3.50~ This was pretty good. But after eating the other pizza, this was pretty normal. haha.
Rio De Janeiro (oven baked pulled chicken breast, catupiry cheese, a dash of parsley) $13.95~
We decided on this because of the catupiry cheese. I had never heard of it. The waiter explained it was a Brazilian cheese that's like a mix betweem cream cheese and butter? Sounded super decadent and awesome! I took a knife and spread the catupiry all of the pizza. It was just as he described...super rich, super creamy, and super delicious. I loved the flavor with the pulled chicken. Love love loved this pizza. However, it was really heavy, so a slice and half in, I was stuffed! It's always cool to learn a new food. :)
It was a great first meal on our vacation. If I lived there, I'd go back. Service was great and food was delicious. And it had a good vibe.
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Sooo... walking there, we noticed that there's a Ben & Jerry's just a couple stores down and it opens til midnight!!! It's a sign. We're on vacation right? We're allowed to eat ice cream at 11PM. haha.
I always have a hard time choosing a flavor here cuz everything is so good. I ended up with Save Our Swirled (raspberry ice cream with marshmallow and raspberry swirls, white and dark fudge ice cream cones). Oh man... I was so full after this! haha.
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
For dinner with the bachelorette party, we had a 7PM reservation at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris hotel. I have yet to try there. It's supposed to have some great views of the Bellagio fountains across the street. We were seated in the enclosed patio area where we got part view of the fountains. However, it was next to a doorway so there was a cold breeze that kept coming through. Saturday in Vegas was quite cold too.. Brrrrrr. The place was quite large, dimly lit, and a bit crammed. I felt like they stuffed too many tables into the space they had.
Mon Ami Gabi
(in Paris Hotel)
3655 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 944-4224
http://www.monamigabi.com/
Price: $$$$
Our waitress was friendly and greeted us. We started off with waters and also ordered their riff on a Sangria (with Gran Marnier). A pitcher was enough for about 7 full wine glasses. It was quite tasty! I normally hate sangrias because I don't like wine, particularly red wine, but the addition of the other flavors masked it quite well. :)
Then we got a whole Baguette (with whipped butter). We just ripped the bread with our hands. It was warm and crusty but still soft on the inside. The whipped butter was awesome. I think all butters should be whipped.
It also came with a Radish/Jicama? Slaw. It was light and refreshing. I really enjoyed it. But is this a normal French thing? Some sort of slaw with your bread? I didn't really understand the combo...
For starters, I got the Arugula and Butternut Squash Salad (frisee, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, sherry brown butter vinaigrette) $11.95~
It. Was. Delicious. I think one of the best salads I've had in a long time. There was nothing super unique about each element but the combination of everything together was perfection. The butternut squash was cooked perfectly. The combination of arugula and frisee provided some interesting texture. The pumpkin seeds were the crunch element and the cranberries were tart and sweet. It was perfectly dressed too. It wasn't drowning in dressing. You could taste the dressing but also each component. I almost thought of cancelling my entree and getting a second salad.
One friend got the Soup du Jour (English pea and potato; served hot) $9.95~
I wanted to get this too, so I got to try it. I was surprised it was warm because normally pea soups are served cold. I guess with the addition of the potato made it hot? It was rich and creamy... my kind of soup. It was poured table side, which I always love that kind of presentation. Quite filling, I'd imagine.
Frisee, Kale, and Warm Bacon Salad (soft poached egg) $11.95~ Two girls split this salad. It looked amazing. If my salad was that good, I'm sure this one was delicious too.
The entrees:
One friend decided to get an appetizer plus a side dish. Sea Scallops Gratinees (caramelized fennel and onion marmalade, mussel cream) $13.95~ It looked good. She said it was good but not great.
Garlic Spinach $5.95~ (in the background) Quite bland... Needed more salt.
Caramelized Sea Scallops (butternut squash puree, fall mushrooms, sage) $25.95~ Looked yummy, I didn't get to try it.
Poisson du Jour (daily fresh fish) $29.95~
This sounded interesting. I forgot what the fish was but it came on a butternut squash and coconut puree. Unique combination! I tried a little of the puree, it was weird at first but then you let it set in, and I think it works! I'm sure it would pair with the fish well.
Chicken Paillard (root vegetables, arugula, chick pea croutons, grana padano) $20.95~
I got this because I've heard of chicken paillard before, sounded very French. But it was basically a seared piece of chicken breast with a side salad. The chicken was bland. It needed seasoning and some sort of a sauce would've been great. The salad looked very similar to the one I just had, but was nowhere as good. I ended up dipping some of the chicken into my friend's merlot sauce for her steak which made a world of difference. It was a very disappointing dish. I left more than half the chicken uneaten. What a waste of 20 bucks. :(
-- While
trying to take pictures of all the other dishes... I forgot to take one
of my own. *Face Palm* But it wasn't worthy anyways...
Apparently they are known for their steaks so several girls got different kinds of steaks.
Classique Steak Frites (maitre d'hotel butter, served with signature hand-cut frites) $26.95~
Merlot Steak Frites (red wine sauce, merlot butter, served with signature hand-cut frites) $27.95~
My friend next to me got this so I got to try it. It was delicious. Mainly because of the sauce. The steak was large but fairly flat, which I tend to like instead of a thicker filet mignon or something. It was cooked well and had a lot of flavor with the sauce. This was the sauce I kept dipping my chicken into. It was sooo tasty. The frites (fries) were different.. almost like chips because they were flat and crispy. Soaking in the sauce was so addicting!!
Filet Mignon (merlot butter, red wine reduction, served with signature hand-cut frites) $36.95~ Sounds like the same sauce as the previous steak. So I'm sure it was pretty awesome.
We were all pretty stuffed after the entrees but then the waitress brought the dessert menus. Well... I probably wouldn't come back in the future so might as well try the dessert too. haha.
I shared a Lemon Tart (sun-dried cherries, brandy, tarragon) $8.95~
It was really good. I used to hate lemons but I'm getting more and more used to them. The tartness was right on.. and was a good ending to a heavy meal. The custard consistency was smooth and creamy. The crust was delicate and buttery. The best part was the cherries in brandy. A lot of flavor and countered the sourness of the lemon.
Two other girls shared the Chocolate Mousse (light semi-sweet chocolate mousse) $7.95~
It had crispy chocolate balls on top which added the crunch factor. The mousse was rich and velvety. The chocolate was dark so it wasn't too sweet. Good dessert.
Everything was pretty good other than my entree. One of my friends said the steaks were the best part. I'd agree (with the exception of my salad), but the steaks weren't the best I've had by far. Maybe that merlot butter sauce was though. haha. Service was good and attentive. Not sure if I would return though, maybe just for the salad, but there are so many other good places in Vegas I've yet to try.
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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